


With Each Other

by Aweirdassguy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Accidental Confession, F/M, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Summaries, LadyNoir - Freeform, Minor Injuries, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, One Shot, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Secret Identity, Sharing a Bed, probably G but I'm playing it safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 08:04:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21250124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aweirdassguy/pseuds/Aweirdassguy
Summary: Ladybug and Chat are a little banged up after battling Hawkmoth's latest akuma, Ladybug accidentally tells him something she meant to keep to herself, and the two have a heart to heart.





	With Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> If you happen to catch any spelling/grammar mistakes feel free to let me know.

Being a superhero came with an inherent risk. Every battle had the possibility of ending with one or both of Paris’s heroes in less than ideal shape. It’s happened before. Scratches, cuts, bruises, minor sprains, unfixed by the miraculous cure. While the magic in the heroes suits’ protected them in the heat of battle, it also prevented the cure from fully healing physical injuries, only completely ridding them of magical influence.

As Ladybug and Chat Noir grew stronger over the years, so too did Hawkmoth. Now even people akumatized over simple inconveniences could be turned into weapons of mass destruction and chaos by the wielder of the stolen miraculous.

The newest victim, a botanist whose favorite potted cactus had been knocked from its shelf by the man’s cat, had been turned into a monster with the combined attributes of both cacti and cats.

He had been a tall yet skinny creature with green fur covered head to toe in razor-sharp spines made him look like an angry cactus. He also had long, jagged fangs and claws sharp enough to cut through metal. The most terrifying thing about him had been his ability to launch the spines in his body, dozens of tiny missiles that would either embed in their target or in whatever happened to be unfortunate enough to have been behind the intended target. Ladybug had been backhanded by the creature and thrown away. As she was standing up, bracing herself against a nearby wall, her partner threw a trash can lid in front of her to block an incoming volley of spines she hadn’t seen before she jumped away. While Chat’s precise throw had blocked most of the needles, one had managed to land itself just under her left shoulder blade where it remained stuck until the cure had removed it. Compared to Chat, however, Ladybug had gotten lucky with this fight. Other than the spine in her back, all she got a couple of scratches under her left breast. 

Using a carefully positioned snare trap, courtesy of the lucky charm, and her yoyo Ladybug had somewhat managed to subdue the creature. As Chat prepared to strike at the plant pot where the akuma was hiding that the beast had used as a helmet it had spun around and tried to attack Ladybug with its free claw. Chat barely managed to push her out of the way before he used his cataclysm to destroy the pot. While he had saved her from what would’ve likely been a non-lethal, but still extremely painful wound, he had taken a glancing blow himself.

Both bleeding and in need of medical attention after Ladybug purified the akuma and summoned her cure, the heroes had swiftly fled the scene of the battle and made their way to their hideout. A few months after Master Fu had gone into hiding with the miracle box, Ladybug and Chat had, with Fu’s permission, converted his old home into a place they could hide if they ever needed a safe place to meet that wasn’t out in the open. Marinette had also made tightly fitted, non-magical masks for each hero to wear in case they ever needed to be face to face while not transformed.

The space had been divided in half by a large curtain spanning the length of the main room. Ladybug couldn’t figure out where he got the money to do so, but Chat had lightly furnished the area that had previously been empty save for a first aid kit, a box of clothes, and a sleeping bag on either side of the room. Each now had their own small dresser, desk, and queen bed. They had very rarely ever needed to spend a night at the hideout, but when they had, Ladybug was sure to thank Chat. Though, more often than not, as was the current case, the beds were simply used as a place to sit while taking care of their injuries. 

After closing the curtain to block their view of each other, the heroes had detransformed and changed out of their civilian clothes. Ladybug had taken the opportunity to quickly have Tikki cover her wound with an adhesive bandage before pulling a crimson camisole over her head, along with the similarly colored mask she had made, and a simple pair of black leggings. While the cure had thankfully removed the spine from Ladybug’s side, the hole where it had been remained, now fully exposed to the open air. Once she heard the all-clear from Chat she stepped over to his side of the room. He was wearing nothing but a pair of dark gray sweatpants and the black mask he had been given by Ladybug. The ashen sweatshirt he would normally also be wearing lay abandoned on the floor, seemingly left there Chat had realized that he would just bleed through it if he put it on.

Now Ladybug was on her knees in front of Chat, who was sitting at the edge of his bed. She had taken out his first aid kit and began to disinfect the numerous gashes left on his torso by the akuma. Luckily, they were almost all pretty minor, except for one that she quickly realized would need stitches to properly heal. She silently thanked her past self for suggesting that they both take a class in first aid and emergency response.

“I’m sorry I have to do this, but we both know it’ll just get worse if I don’t,” Ladybug said, taking the suture kit and a pair of gloves from their medical supplies after she finished cleaning and bandaging the more minor cuts on her partner’s body.

“Yeah,” Chat began, “I get it. Just hand me that belt sitting on my desk.” She did and he folded it in half and stuck it between his teeth, preparing to bite down hard in pain. Another downside to a secret identity was that they had to do everything without the help of prescription drugs of anesthetics.

When she finally started working at his wound, she grimaced at the sounds Chat made. She didn’t have to imagine what it felt like to get stitches like this, without anything to numb the pain. Several minutes later Ladybug tied the final knot and made the last snip. Chat spit out the belt and groaned in pain as she wrapped gauze around him to cover fresh suture.

She really wished he would be more careful. Over the years she had lost count of how many times he had thrown himself in front of her or sacrificed himself to save her from a particularly destructive akuma. She was honestly surprised she had only ever had to stitch him up once before. His unwavering dedication to protecting her and the city just made it harder to keep herself from revealing her deepest secret to him, which, unlike what she had led him to believe, wasn’t her secret identity.

“Glad that’s over,” Chat said in an uncharacteristically annoyed voice, though she could understand why he would be peeved after an akuma used him as a scratching post. 

“I know, I’m sorry.” She brought her hand to her own wound, feeling the fabric slightly wet from her blood, wincing at the stinging sensation coming from it.

“Don’t be, someone had to do it. Now, how are you doing after that spike you caught?” Chat asked as they both stood up. She peeled off the gloves she had been wearing and threw them in the trash can beside her along with the bloodied gauze he had been holding over the big cut while she treated the smaller ones.

“I’m fine, really.” She made to go back to her side of the room, but Chat stopped her, grabbing her hand.

“Bug, I can see the blood on your back.” She could see the worry in his eyes.

“I can take care of it myself.” She again tried to step back, but his grip on her hand tightened.

“Normally I’d agree with you, but I know from experience how hard it is to clean a wound on your back without help.”

“Really, it’s not that-”

“Hey, you just gave me stitches, the least I can do is help you clean a hole in your back.”

“I…” She sighed, “Okay. You’re right.” She conceded and his hand released hers. She sat down on the end of his bed and sat cross-legged behind her. Her fingers curled around the hem of her camisole as she made take it off, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. 

This wasn’t the first time Chat had seen her without her shirt on or even the first time he had helped her with a cut in a hard to reach place, but that fact didn’t do very much to ease her embarrassment.

Now that her upper body was covered only by the royal purple bra she had put on after getting out of bed that morning Chat could see the bandaid she had on her back had completely soaked through with blood.

“Do you want this off fast or slow?” Chat’s now gloved hand grabbed at the edge of the adhesive.

“Just get it over with.” She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the bandaid to be ripped off.

“Alright. 5, 4, 3-” She yelped as he tore the bandage off without warning, dropping it in the garbage can beside the bed. She briefly glared at him from over her shoulder, but quickly let him get back to work.

Chat opened a new pack of alcohol wipes and cleaned off the area around the gash on her back. She cringed at how it stung when he wiped over the opening. After he put a few gauze pads over the hole, he wrapped her torso with bandages covering the hole and the smaller scratches on her front similarly to how she had done for him. He made a tight knot on her back to hold the wrapping together.

“There, that should hold until it heals.” He slid beside her and dangled his legs off the edge of the bed with hers. “How do you feel?”

“Physically or emotionally?” She glanced at him but didn’t turn her head.

“Surprise me.” Ladybug didn’t need to look at him to know he was giving her the same little smile he always had whenever they talked. She could imagine the way his lips curled up ever so slightly whenever he looked at her, his eyes watching her with a look she had only ever seen before on her father whenever her mother shared a new recipe with him. Just the way he looked at her told her enough about how he felt to make it hard to keep her own feelings from him, but as the days went on, it got harder and harder to find a reason not to tell him.

“Physically pretty good. Well, most of me is pretty sore from getting slammed into the pavement more times than I’d have liked, but my back feels pretty good all things considered. Emotionally though,” She finally turned and looked him in the eyes. “I’m annoyed at you.” His smile faltered.

“Okay, I’m sorry I tore off the bandaid before I got to one, but trust me, it hurts a lot more when you expect it.” He put his hands up in a mock surrender pose.

“That’s not what this is about, Chat.” She didn’t want to be mad at him, but it was hard for her to control her emotions whenever he took a bullet for her.

“Oh?” He looked confused at what she had said.

“You took the hit for me. Again. I’ve told you before, you don’t need to do that.” She could tell that had certainly made him less confused, but now he sported a face that she imagined looked similar to her own.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If I ever have to choose between you getting hurt or me getting hurt, I’ll always choose myself. I can’t purify akumas, only you can. If I get taken out that’s bad, but if you get taken out of the fight, then there’s no point in even fighting the akuma until you’re back.”

“I get that, but I would’ve been fine if he had gotten me. Sure, it would’ve hurt, but you didn’t need to take that hit for me. You’re always taking hits for me. Besides, I can’t stand watching you get hurt.” The last part she said more to herself than him, turning away from him again and closing her eyes.

“Until the day there’s another hero that can purify akumas and reverse the damage, I’m going to continue protecting you, no matter the cost.” She had no doubt that he wholeheartedly meant what he said.

“Can’t you see that you’re just as important as I am? I wouldn’t have lasted a single day as Ladybug without your help.” Why did he have to be this stubborn? Couldn’t he see what it did to her, seeing him in pain? She could feel herself getting closer to tears.

“As far as I’m concerned, my job as Chat Noir whenever there’s an akuma isn’t to protect the city or to protect the people. My job is to protect you until the akuma is gone and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you too much” 

That did it. It wasn’t the first time he had professed his love for her, but the way he said it so seriously, without hesitation or even the slightest hint of a joke in his tone was too much for her. Try as she might she couldn’t think of any reason good enough to resist telling him. She knew the risk that would come if she told him, but none of that mattered now.

“I know you will you stupid cat!” She whirled back around to face him, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. “That’s what makes it so hard to love you!”

He was stunned. For years, every time he had asked her out she had told him she was in love with someone else. For a while it was true, and in a way it still was. She couldn’t deny that she still had feelings for Adrien, but they were nothing compared to what she felt for her dear partner.

What irritates her the most is that she is the only one she can blame for her feelings. Once, after she had rejected one of his numerous invitations to a candlelit dinner, he had taken a more serious tone than she had ever heard from him before. He had told her that if anything he did started to make her uncomfortable all she had to do was tell him and he’d stop, no questions asked. All she would’ve had to do is just tell him to and he’d have let her go. She never told him to stop.

It was a much slower fall than what had happened with Adrien. The first time she realized that her feelings for Chat might be more than just that of friendship was when she kissed him to rid him of Dark Cupid’s influence. She would never forget the way her heart pounded in her chest when she grabbed his head and pulled him in. That night she had a dream about it, about what might have happened if she hadn’t let go when she did but kept holding long after he was fully aware of what was happening. When she woke up, she didn’t need a mirror to know that her face was as red as her costume. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t deny that she at least felt something more than friendship.

‘But,’ she told herself, ‘you can’t be in love with Chat and Adrien at the same time. Right?’

She never knew how to respond. On one hand, seeing Adrien did still make her heart leap out of her chest, leaving her unable to even get out a single coherent sentence in front of him. On the other, she couldn’t help but smile whenever she saw Chat’s cheeky grin when they met up to patrol the city or whenever he made one of those stupid puns he loved so much (though she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing she actually liked them).

That was the past though. It had taken months, but she had finally managed to stop stumbling over her words whenever Adrien was around and now she could finally hold a conversation with him. She wasn’t really sure when it had happened, but the rose-tinted glasses she used to look at Adrien through were lifted from her eyes. He was still just as sweet as before and she definitely considered him one of her closest friends, but her thoughts had started wandering to Chat more often than they used too. She had even taken down many of her pictures of Adrien and replaced them with ones of Chat instead.

It had taken everything she had not to break down and tell him everything on Valentine’s day. With his night vision, there was no way he hadn’t seen how red she’d turned when he kissed her cheek. It wasn’t until Chloe’s mother was akumatized that she really felt how much more she cared for Chat than Adrien. Sure, she had been afraid when Adrien was turned into a statue, but every minute that she waited for Chat to show up felt like a chasm was opening beneath her. When Fu told her that he’d just lost his ring she was simultaneously relieved that he was okay and terrified that she would have to fight alone. For as much grief as she gave him, she knew that she needed him more often than not. In fact, if it hadn’t been for his kwami, she wouldn’t have been able to defeat Audrey.

Today wasn’t even close to the first time he had taken a hit for her, but this was the first time he’d taken a bullet for her that she couldn’t just magic back to normal when all was said and done, and it hurt her to see him in pain, especially from an attack that was directed at her. She would gladly have taken that hit for him, but he didn’t give her an option. He never did. Another reason to love him.

When she first met him she brushed him off as not taking his job seriously, constantly making jokes and cracking wise, but she soon realized that he knew the risks just as well as she did. He might be a bit quick to jump the gun, but he always did whatever needed to be done to defeat the akuma, no matter the cost to himself. His dedication to not just protect her but also making it fun have him by her side, whether they were fighting or not.

Why did he have to be so persistent? She rejected him so many times but he never gave up. He was just as determined to win her over as he was to save the day whenever there was trouble.

‘So, yes,’ She told herself, ‘you can love them both at the same time.’ It was a realization that shocked her, but tonight, one simple thought had broken the dam that had been getting berated ever since they fought Dark Cupid.

‘But only one of them loves you back.’

“Bugaboo?” Chat’s voice snapped her back to reality. 

How long had he been trying to get her attention? It couldn’t’ve been that long or he would’ve had to shake her back to reality, but it had been long enough that she could feel the cold lines on her cheeks left behind by the tears flowing from her eyes. 

Why is she crying? Is it embarrassment from accidental confession her love, or is she relieved that she had finally taken such a tremendous weight off her chest? Is it anger at him for jumping in front of her once again, or is she angry at herself for being in a situation that prompted him to do so in the first place? Is she scared of what was going to come next, or is she excited? As best as she could surmise it was a mixture of everything. 

So she put her head in her hands and laughed. It was a laugh comprised of joy, sadness, anger, fear, and hope all rolled together into an emotional hailstorm.

She didn’t dare to face Chat. What must he be thinking? She had rejected each and every one of his romantic gestures since they became heroes only to turn around and say she was in love with him, then stare off into space for who knows how long while crying her eyes out.

The last thing she expected at that moment was to feel his arms wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I understand if you don’t wanna say anything, just please stop crying. You know I hate it when you cry.” He rubbed her back in small circles. It was a vain effort to calm her down, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Several tear-filled minutes later she finally managed to reign in her emotions enough to steady her breathing and her racing heart, Chat never letting go of her the whole time.

“I can understand if you don’t want to, but I think really think it would be for the best if we talk about what just happened,” Chat said, finally releasing her when she lifted her head from her hands.

“As tempting as it sounds to just pretend this never happened, I don’t think that would work with this.” It was the first actual words she’d spoken since her slip up.

“Glad we’re in agreement. So, you wanna start from the beginning?” He held one of her hands, lightly rubbing his thumb against her palm. It was such a small gesture, but it made her feel better.

“Oh man, where even is the beginning?” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand.

“Okay, how about the ‘love’ thing. What happened to you being in love with another boy? Was that just a lie to keep me off your trail?”

“No, well not at first. Actually, I still don’t think it is. I still love him, or, at least I think I do, but I have feelings for you too. Is that weird? Am I just stupid?”

“No, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Actually, I think I kind of know how you feel. There’s this girl I know and she means the world to me. Honestly, if it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve asked her out by now, but you can’t help what your heart wants, and my heart wants you more than anyone else.”

“Well, that does make me feel a bit better. So you’re not mad that I hid this from you?” She eyed him cautiously.

“I want to be, but I can’t. I know you, and I know you would never hide something like this without a good reason, even if I don’t know what it is.”

“At first, when I started falling for you, I tried to deny it, but when that didn’t work I reasoned that if we did get together Hawkmoth would try using that as leverage against us. That logic got a lot harder after we fought Oblivio.”

“So why didn’t you tell me after that?”

“I was… scared? I was afraid of how you’d react if I told you after turning you down so many times. Although, a not insignificant part of me just didn’t want to give you the satisfaction of being right about me falling for you eventually.” That got a chuckle out of him. It was soft, but it made her happy to know that he wasn’t mad.

“So what finally got you to fess up?”

“Part of it was seeing you get hurt tonight. It wasn’t just that you took that attack for me, but that you had no regrets about it. I was scared you might’ve died for just a second, and I couldn’t help but think what I would do if you really were dying. How I’d regret not telling you.

“It was so hard to keep from telling you, but I held it in anyways. When you started saying how you wouldn’t have had any regrets about taking that shot for me, that was the final straw. I wasn’t thinking, I just said it.”

“Do you regret it?”

“I… what?”

“Do you regret it, regret telling me the truth?”

“I…” Did she? She supposed she hadn’t really thought about it, but she supposed she didn’t need to. The feeling of having such a tremendous weight lifted from her chest was all she needed. “No, I don’t.”

“Good,” He squeezed her hand that he held, “neither do I.”

“So, what now?” Her eyes met his once more, but this time they stayed locked together.

“I’ll happily do whatever you want, so long as you’d have me.”

“I’m still not sure if this is reality. I think I might’ve hit my head pretty hard during that fight and now I’m dead. All I want is just something too real to deny, something that proves I’m not dead or dreaming.”

“Well, here.” He pulled her close to him, putting her ear on his chest, right above his heart. “Just listen. Is that real enough for you?”

“I’ve listened to your heart before, my brain could easily fake that. I just want something new, something my brain wouldn’t be able to fake no matter how hard it tried.” She pulled back from his chest and looked back into his eyes. His deep green eyes that had kept her awake at night with a longing that not even she understood.

“I think I may have an idea for something.” Ladybug closed her eyes with bated breath when she saw Chat leaning slowly, but did nothing to stop his advance. An hour ago she would’ve pushed him away, but now, she had nothing to lose.

When she finally felt Chat press his lips to hers in a soft, careful passion she felt herself melting away beneath him. The only thing holding her together was the hand he moved to lightly caress her cheek. This was nothing like when she had kissed him during the fight with Dark Cupid. That kiss had been cold, a necessity and nothing more. This, however, came from an intense dedication. It was an unspoken promise that neither understood but would happily die to keep. For just a moment she managed to forget about her every trouble and woe, her entire being focused only on him and the things he did to her.

His warmth was among the most calming things she had ever known, flooding into her from his fingers on her face and his lips on her, heart slowing down to a steady, dulcet rhythm for the first time since she had accidentally loosed her deepest thoughts and feelings onto Chat.

By the time he pulled away her mind had grown hazy enough that she couldn’t tell if it had been seconds, hours, or even days since Chat had given her the first real, wistful, loving kiss.

She hesitated to open her eyes until she heard his voice, calling to her from beyond her clouded mind’s eye.

“So, do you still have any doubt that this is all real?”

“No, I don’t.” She laughed a little, “And I’m glad this is real.”

“Well. With that out of the way,” He sat back, putting a few more inches between the two of them, “would this be a bad time to point out that neither of us is wearing a shirt?”

Never before in her life had she turned so red so fast as she did at that moment. It felt like a fire had been lit inches from her face and the chuckle that came from Chat as she desperately started looking around for her shirt didn’t help her at all. When she finally found where her top lay abandoned on the floor beside her she nearly put it on backward in her rush to cover herself. Chat was struggling to contain his laughter by the time she looked back at him.

Slightly frustrated at both her reaction to Chat’s comment and Chat’s reaction to hers, she also grabbed the sweatshirt he had left sitting at the foot of his bed and smacked him in the face with it, effectively silencing his laughter.

“Well, that was just rude.” He pulled the garment off of his face, sliding it over his head and covering his bandaged chest.

“You deserved it for laughing at me,” She huffed, crossing her arms in faux annoyance.

“I can’t help it, you’re so adorable when you turn red like that.”

“You know, you’re really making me question whether or not it was a good idea to let you kiss me.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry for laughing at you. Better?” He raised one eyebrow but his ever present smirk remained unwavering.

“Yes, much so.” Now she was returning his smirk with one of her own.

“Well, now that we’re both fully clothed, I think we need to have a rather important conversation.” While the smile remained when he said this, his eyes had a softer tone, one that she wouldn’t mind spending hours and hours on end staring into, watching them as though they were a distant sunset over a familiar shore.

“Well, I do agree, we definitely have a lot more to talk about, I think that can wait until the morning. I mean, that is, assuming you are going to spend the night here. I’m sorry, I just assumed since it’s already pretty late and after everything that just hap-” She never got to finish her sentence. The pesky cat that had stolen another kiss from her, this one much quicker than the first, but still nearly as incredible.

“I get it, Bug. I’d be happy to stay here with you tonight. If you don’t want to talk until the morning, that’s fine too. After all, I’ve spent so long waiting for you to give me a shot, what’s a few more hours?”

She slowly breathed out a sigh of relief.

“How do you always know just what to say to calm me down?” She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, one which he returned with equal vigor.

They spent a few minutes like this. Not talking, not thinking, just being there, being with each other, and not needing anything else in order to feel complete. When they did finally let each other go it wasn’t for very long.

“So, since we’re already on your side, would it be okay if I just stay over here tonight?” She couldn’t help the sheepish smile that spread across her lips, especially as she slid her hand over his, already longing to feel his touch once more.

“Uh… yeah. I’d like that.” Now it was his turn to blush as he returned her grip on his hand. He didn’t expect her to be ready to share a bed with him yet, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain if she was.

So they stood up together, never letting go of each other’s hand as the walked briskly over to the top of the bed and pulled back the covers. Reluctantly, she allowed his hand to slip from her grasp as he climbed into the bed, edging closer to the wall to give her room to wiggle in herself. As soon as she was comfortably lying down he pulled the covers over the two of them then moved one of his hands back down to meet hers under the covers.

As they lay there together they eventually managed to settle into a more comfortable position. Their legs intertwined and the hands that held together sat in the warm space between them. Only three more words were spoken by each young hero for the rest of the night. Before they closed their eyes to get the rest they most certainly both needed after this night, Ladybug pressed one last quick peck on Chat’s forehead.

“Goodnight, My Lady.”

“Goodnight, Mon Chaton.”

**Author's Note:**

> NGL, when I started writing this story I had every intention for it to be a sin fic but it kinda just became pure fluff and I liked it like this. I might write an alternate sin ending and post it as a sequel to this. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions be sure to leave a comment.
> 
> Until next time,  
-Red
> 
> P.S. My favorite album to listen to while I write: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCSCZtb7SbOyZ5faxJxfSn8R3MTLLNyGS (Church is my favorite from the album)


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